THE EX FACTOR #24

September 07, 2014
Elijah Ogidi-Olu
0 Comments

Look into the mirror. Talk to
the person you think is just a reflection and realize it's more than what you
think it is.

I lay still on my three
sitter comfy couch and enjoyed 2face's "rainbow" and then Black eyed
pea's "Don't phunk with my heart" at the same time as I was trying my
best to doze off into the dream world. A world where your troubles and
emotional burdens are not allowed. Where you could be sitting on the throne and
commanding hundreds of thousands of your subjects as you want. Where nothing could
stop you from pulling any stunt you want to pull. A world I could relax and
re-energize before coming back to the physical, hustle filled one. Where
everyone wants to go, except those being followed from their village. Those
ones really get scared when they doze or its time for bed. Everybody is
supposed to like sleeping... To an extent because oversleeping can attract
poverty to you, or you to poverty.

I once said in one of my
articles that you can never be Mr. Sleep-a-lot and be Mr. Rich-a-lot. Never!...
You've just got to hold on to one.

I slowly dozed off and
everything around me ... And by everything I meant the sound coming from my LG
home theatre was starting to fade out when suddenly my phone rang.

"Arrrggh!... Shit!...
This is why I hate putting this stupid dumb phones around me. And who the heck
is this?!" I grumbled as I picked up my phone to check who the caller was.

"Calm down guy!... You
just disrupted my sleep. Don't add more trouble by blabbing. What's up?"

"It's June bro... She
just spoke to me not quite long ago and she told me I'm free to go. I really
didn't understand what she meant but she explained that she had suffered a
miscarriage."

"Like seriously?" I
cut in.

"I'm not kidding you
bro. She categorically told me this herself and at first I felt very bad and
sorry for her but its like mother nature was on my side all along. Believe
me... After the call, I looked on the bright side and realize I'm free!...
Free!... Free like a bird. No more forceful ties and thinking like I'm being
paid to think."

"You're really lucky
man."

"I'm telling you."

"Now you can move to
your next ex and select a new rendezvous for some new escapades. Isn't
it?"

I stood up, grabbed my s4,
smashed it on the floor, jumped over the pieces in small quick jumps around
three or four times just to make sure and went back to sleep... In my mind.

"Hello? Who's
this?"

"Is this one alright?...
Who are you asking who is this?... I have good news bro & I'm sure you want
to hear it."

"Doc, I'm trying to
sleep in the afternoon for once. Didn’t you recommend siesta one time like
that?"

"Mature minds don't
sleep. Hehehe!... So, guess what it is!"

Before I could tell Doc to
put the gist on hold till later when I'm awake and ready to listen to him, he
continued.

"My fiancée is
travelling back home next week bro. She's through with her program and that's
even since last month. She said she's been arranging her stuffs but I know its a
lie. She just doesn't want to leave her numerous friends behind but her stay is
finally over. Either she leaves or she's been escorted out of UK. Hehehe."

"Oh!"

"Now you can get to meet
her and see who it is I've always talked about." Doc continued, determined
to say it all. "...and you can ask her all those your silly questions
you've always asked me."

"That's great news Doc.
Keep me apprised on her movements. Ok?"

"Yea, sure bro... And
you know what again?"

I instantly removed the phone
from my ear, rubbed on my shirt a few times and returned it back.

"Hello?... Hel... Hello?
Doc, can you hear me?"

I didn't wait as I quickly
remove the phone, repeated the process and hit the red button. I lay back with
a sigh, also determined to get this sleep.

"I must sleep cos I
didn't deprive my mother of sleep."

I had not finished redressing
myself in the couch when the phone rang again.

"I thought I turned this
thing off... Oh no!, I didn't. Am I'm stupid myself? Doc! Did they send you to
me from the village? Arrrghh!" I was at a medium level of frustration and
I stood up to switch the phone off, even if he'll fight me later...

"Hello" I said
clearing my throat.

"Hi dear, how are
you?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm okay"

"Dorothy?"

"She's fine. You just
bother to call me since that day. Why?... Are we quarrelling?"

"No ma'am. I'm just
following instructions."

I did the best I could to
reply everything Liz said in the coldest way possible and obliged to her
request of going to see her after begging me like never before. In a few
minutes, I was dressed up and ready to leave. I still wouldn't have agreed to see
her except for Dorothy. Both hands on the wheel, a deep sigh of frustration at
the fact that I still never got that sleep, I started my car and zoomed off.

****************

As I drove back from Lizzy's
place, later that same evening, I knew that would most likely be the last time
I'm going to intentionally see her. Am I still going to see her? Yes!... But it
would definitely be just bumping into her maybe at an event, a mall, the
cinema, or we might just both be driving by and give ourselves a distant and
hypocritical wave.

"So that's the
guy!" I thought as I made a sharp left turn.

"But why?... Why make
drive down all the way just to introduce me to your just returned hubby?"
Truth be told to myself, It was an ambivalent feeling cos it was a really good
thing when your man comes back to take responsibility for you and your child,
but it’s not so cool if you're in my shoes, already in love with a lady,
looking past the fact that she's a single mum, even already loving her daughter
as your own.

I re-visualised the
occurrence of the past couple of hours.

"Uncle Jay!"
Dorothy screamed and ran into my arms as I lifted her up, tickled her a little
and exchanged pleasantries.

"How are you Jay?"
Liz said, giving me slight side hug as she collected Tammy from my arms.

She began apologising for how
she had handled the events of the past few weeks, apologies not really needed
cos I wasn't even vexed. Just felt swept aside, which won't be a strange or new
feeling for me. She continued and repeated a few words over and over again and
I knew something was at the brink of her lips and she wanted to say it but
didn't know how to. She beat around the bush a few more times and I decided to
help out.

"So how's your
husband?" I cut in between her stammers and bush beating.

"He's... He's fine. He's
even inside."

Immediately, I felt like
disappearing. Not from fear but from embarrassment.

"He's what?...
Inside?"

"Yes. I've even told him
you're around but he's praying and should soon join us."

I glanced at my watch. A
thousand thoughts ran through my mind and I knew I just had to get going.

"Well, maybe I'll have
to come back around to see him later then cos Doc called me a couple of hours
ago and there's a new project to attend to. My regards to him." I stood up
and grabbed my car keys.

"Always busy!... Ok
then. I'll tell him you said hi" Liz didn't know how funny she looked with
that forced smile. I chuckled inside.

Just as I grabbed the door
handle, a male voice called me from behind.

"Oh no!" I said
beneath my breath and turned to meet Dorothy's dad for the first time.

"I've heard so much
about you sir." He said in all smiles, albeit nervous.

"Ah!... There can't be
anything much to say. I'm sure."

I caught Liz flinch at that
statement, as she was still in the scope of my peripheral vision.

We exchanged obviously
nervous pleasantries and I had to fight desperately against him trying to make
me stay a little bit more. I succeeded, found my way to my car, looked at the
three seemingly happy beings on their entrance porch arranged like it was time
for a family photograph.

They waved to me and I
awkwardly waved back what would definitely be my last wave. I started my car,
took a deep sigh and screeched out of their sight... And definitely out of their
mind and their life.

Not on extremely rare
occasions but sometimes, the only way to show you really love someone is by
staying away from them.

Hello. I'm Ogidi-Olu Elijah. A Creative Content Developer, Freelance writer and Blogger. I also help people manage their blogs via content management. Thanks for checking me out on MMT. Where, we talk with no holds barred. Got something for me? Kindly send me a mail. It's good to have you here. Let's have some fun!

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